Vikings have work to do

Kinston boys fell to Hunt in the last non-conference game Tuesday night.

Jessika Morgan / Sports Editor

Sounds of celebration oozed from the visiting team’s locker room Tuesday night — and the Warriors definitely had a reason for their audible gaiety.

It’s ideal for teams to enter the conference season on a positive, and Wilson Hunt couldn’t have done it any better than beating powerhouse Kinston, 69-58, in Viking Gym.

Too many turnovers proved to be costly.

Thirty-seven percent shooting didn’t help the Vikings’ case either.

And Kinston’s lack of energy and motivation was clear as the Warriors escaped Kinston with an impressive victory.

The loss for Kinston was coach Perry Tyndall’s first home defeat since he became the Vikings’ head coach at the beginning of the 2012-13 season.

“Oh, wow,” Hunt coach Dwight Taylor said in disbelief. “I didn’t realize that, but it’s a good win for us. Perry’s a real good coach, and they have a fine team.”

It was both squads’ last game before beginning their respective conference seasons. The pair previously shared a league, so Taylor was used to facing a dominant Kinston basketball team.

But Tuesday was different, as the Warriors (7-4) won the second battle of the regular-season series. When the teams met in December, Kinston came away with a 65-60 victory in front of ACC basketball representatives.

So the Warriors had every reason to dance and sing after beating Kinston.

“This is one of those big games; it’s Kinston,” Taylor said, “and we feel like it’s a real good team. We feel like we are too, but up until this point, we haven’t really proven that we can be somebody of their caliber.”

Kinston (8-4) looked more like a shell of itself Tuesday night, and Hunt took full advantage.

The Vikings racked up more turnovers in the first half, but the balls they gave away in the second were monumental blunders.

Kinston, which hadn’t led since the opening quarter, pulled within four points to start the final period. But Hunt converted a pair of steals into four points to open the last quarter, plays powered by Warriors’ leading scorer Justin Jefferson.

He finished with 22 points.

The Vikings managed to keep it close enough early in the fourth quarter, but it became clear Hunt could pull away for good after this scene: Kinston forward Brandon Ingram missed a dunk; Hunt’s Orlando Dickens grabbed the rebound; Dickens passed across the floor to an open Jefferson; Jefferson scored an easy layup, and the Warriors found themselves up, 64-56, with two minutes left to go.

And that play was sparked by Kinston’s Darnell Dunn’s steal.

Ingram led the scoring corps for the Vikings with 23 points, going 8-of-23 from the field. He made seven of his eight free throws.

With 5:51 left in the second quarter, the Vikings started pacing the way they should be, but the Warriors didn’t stop striking. When Ingram knocked down a shot, it was immediately answered by a Jalen Gilliam bucket.

As the half wrapped up, Kinston’s scoring warmed up some. Hunt began playing more loosely, giving the Vikings a chance to chip away at their deficit — a four-point shortfall they carried into the locker room.

Coming out from the break, the Vikings couldn’t catch up as Hunt beat Kinston to the boards to come up with points. Rebounding was an issue earlier in the contest for Kinston, as it was beat by a noticeable 5-1 margin to start the game.

“We’re struggling to find consistency,” Tyndall said. “We have got to commit to some of the little fundamental things, such as rebounding the basketball. We gave up five offensive rebounds in the first quarter, and it’s because we’re standing and watching.”

Kinston ultimately won the rebounding battle, 28-27, led by Darnell Dunn’s 12 boards. He also finished with 14 points as the only other Kinston player to score in double figures.

“We’ve seen some quality non-conference teams, and I think it will prepare us,” Tyndall said about Saturday’s matchup. “We’ve got a lot of quality teams in our conference, too, who are playing some really good basketball.”

Girls’ game:

The Vikings held their breath until the final 2 seconds Tuesday night.

There were 2.7 ticks on the clock when Takerian Harper received an intentional foul.

Kinston was leading, 53-50, as Hunt’s Alexus Williams approached the line for a chance at two points.

After dropping only the first one, Kinston boxed out for the game’s most important rebound and held on to a 53-51 win over the visiting Hunt.

Free throws determined the final three lead changes of the game. The last one was thanks to Kinston guard Jada Faison, who knocked down a pair to ultimately keep the Vikings alive in the nail-biter.

“I thought we did a pretty good job the last two minutes,” coach Hubert Quinerly said. “I thought we did a better job than we did the first 29 minutes. The biggest thing is I thought we made the right passes, we made some free throws and we made some hustle plays.”

To tie at 41-41, Kinston guard Brittany Drumgoole pulled up for a shot she missed, rebounded her own ball, and — instead of going for the second chance — passed to Lydia Rivers, who banked it in.

The pair linked up again as the first half expired, with Kinston leading, 29-27.

Rivers recorded a double-double for Kinston with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Drumgoole finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Four steals from Hunt’s Brianna Anderson threatened Kinston’s chances in the second half. She played low to pressure the dribble, which worked in her favor.

Anderson scored nine points for the Warriors, and they were led by Kianna Ballard’steam-high 14.

Kinston (8-2) opens its EC2A conference season Saturday against North Lenoir (5-9).

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.